


A Symphony of Chaos

by Princessfbi



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Brief Mentions of Blood, Can be Buddie if you squint, Car Accidents, F/M, Firefam Feels, Hostage Situation, Hurt Evan "Buck" Buckley, Hurt/Comfort, Liberal Use of Protocols in this Situation because I was embarrassed to ask my BIL, Mentions of Injuries from a car crash, POV Multiple, Protective Bobby Nash, Protective Firefam, Team Bonding, Team Feels, The 118 Hates Change, Whump, Whumptine 2020, Worried Firefam, change is hard, partners
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-24
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:28:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24360592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Princessfbi/pseuds/Princessfbi
Summary: Believe it or not, they’d prepared for this very instance.But that didn’t make seeing Buck’s hands shake any easier.
Relationships: Athena Grant/Bobby Nash
Comments: 14
Kudos: 471
Collections: 9-1-1 Tales





	A Symphony of Chaos

Athena called it a symphony of chaos. A combination of sounds that clash against one another until they were twisted into music to the first responders’ ears. It was their job to keep the music from turning into a crescendo. It was their job to keep a tight grip on the rollercoaster of scales until the fluctuating fell into a smooth finish.

The ten car pile-up they'd been dispatched to in the middle of downtown LA and blocking an intersection wasn’t even the worst Hen had seen in her time as a paramedic. But it certainly was turning into one of the loudest. Victims and officers were swarming the crash site as cars blasted their horns as the traffic built up and detoured around. Bobby was cutting into lines of communication as the incident command captain and conducted the tangled web of mayhem as Chim and Jensen worked to free people from their vehicles.

Maybe that was why everything seemed so loud.

As the captain, Bobby had to anticipate all sorts of scenarios and changes. They never worked on a straight line and change was a part of life. Bobby, out of all of them, had to be in two places at once. He had to be in the present and the future. He had to watch their backs and anticipate their needs before they even realized they needed them.

They had protocols upon protocols so they could dance to the music they were containing and adjust as quickly as possible if they needed.

Which meant they had to practice so they could prepare.

That didn’t mean they liked it and the 118 took to change like David stood up to Goliath. They hated it. And it always ended with someone saying 'I told you so'.

Eddie was still the odd man out while his shoulder was healing and his arm was in a sling from a falling beam that had clipped him at a house fire. Eddie being out meant that the rest of the crew were already spinning into altered rotations to compensate. Chim got to take a seat in the rescue role with Jensen by his side. It’d taken a rebar through his head for them to figure out that sometimes Chim would start to stew from having to wait for the emergency to be brought to him. Sometimes, Chim just need a little taste of the adrenaline to scratch that itch that seemed to build up under his skin. Plus, it was an easy swap depending on the severity of the scene.

Still, Hen couldn’t help but feel like she was missing her other arm. When you work together and for as long as they have, you get used to not having to verbalize what you need. It was the same with Buck and Eddie. In their line of work, you just found your person and you stuck with them. Change was just… a nuisance. A necessary evil but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

Eddie being out also meant then that she was paired up with Buck.

And she did get it. A stethoscope needed to feel as familiar as the weight of a turnout jacket. Buck’s unsureness forced him to work on his temperateness. He couldn’t dive head first when he was busy helping Hen triage and sure, it was helping Hen work on how to not stretch herself so thin that she couldn’t see.

Again, didn’t mean she had to like it.

She lifted her wrist to wipe at the sweat that was forming on her brow as she snapped off her gloves for a new set. It’d been unseasonably chilly after a two day long rainstorm ended their drought season and when one car slid into another and another it turned into a domino effect. She and Buck had both shredded their turnout coats for their LAFD fleeces a long time ago but she was starting to feel the damp cold air seeping into her bones even with the sweat. It was too bad Eddie was the man behind. Bobby would’ve set them up with a nice hot meal for lunch but since Eddie had been banned from doing anything that involved food other than _ordering_ it from somewhere, they were going to have to make do with whatever take out they could scrounge up. Still, she couldn’t wait for the hot shower that was calling her name when they got back.

“When can I leave?” A voice asked.

A man, late forties, with a few scratch marks on his face was all but twitching in his seat on the curb. He held the gauze to his forehead that Buck must have given him when he checked for a concussion with tight fingers that where white from the pressure.

“That cut on your forehead is going to need stitches, sir,” Hen explained with that same patience she’d perfected for the impatience that came into her care. “Then the officers are going to want to talk to all of you involved in the accident.”

“Well, can’t you stitch me up then? I have somewhere to be!”

“They’ll do that at the hospital. Keep pressure on that,” she said and turned before he had a chance to argue with her more.

She checked on Buck, watching as he held up his penlight for a young girl that seemed more scared than hurt. She’d been trapped in the middle of the mess and had been able to climb out through her sunroof but the poor thing couldn’t have been older than seventeen. Buck murmured to her something that caused a smile to flick on her face like a light bulb and Hen rolled her eyes.

Buck could be a handful but his heart of gold was hard to resist when he turned on those baby blues.

“How we doing, Hen?” Bobby asked, coming over to assess their ever-growing line of triage as Chim and Jensen helped more people.

“She won’t let us leave and that idiot kid with the eye sore doesn’t know what he’s doing,” the man said from behind her.

Hen's gaze jerked back at Buck to see if he heard. Given the slight kicked look on his face, he did, but kept his focus on the girl as he continued to assess her. She was certainly no stranger to people that they were trying to help taking out their fear and frustration on her so it didn’t even phase her anymore but Buck wasn’t used to having someone insult you before throwing up and crying on you.

He’d learn to ignore it eventually. 

“Sir, the officers will need to clear you before you can go,” Bobby said with that air of finality he only pulled out when he was trying to back up what his team had already decided.

“So far,” Hen said, checking her list. “No major injuries. A few concussions, some internal injuries from seatbelts. I’ve sent out three units so far with possible fractures and one pregnant woman with a case of whiplash---”

“I want to leave.” Hen’s eyes rolled skyward as she forced herself to take a deep breath.

“Sir, we will get you out of here as quickly as possible. Now please let my medics work,” Bobby said with that push in his voice Hen only heard him use when someone was really trying his patience. “And how’s Buck doing?”

Hen glanced over her shoulder and watched as Buck felt along the girl’s shoulder with light fingertips to assess a break.

“Charming as always,” Hen said with a fond smile. “But when this is all done, I want my partner back. Please and thank you.”

It’s not that she didn’t love Buck but his energy was endless and if she had to hear one more fun fact in the cab of the ambulance she was going to strangle him with the blood pressure cuff. She missed Chim. 

Bobby winced with a chuckle and nodded. “I’ll see what I can do.”

“Hey Hen?” Buck called her over.

His voice sounded less wobbly with uncertainty than it had earlier that morning once he remembered that he did in fact know what he was doing but he’d been quick to ask for Hen whenever he thought there was something out of his knowledge of expertise. She turned on her heel and slipped on another pair of gloves but even from where she was standing she could see what had cause Buck to be concerned. A bruise was creeping past the collar of the girl’s blouse as she tilted her head to the side. Buck’s hand was stabilizing her elbow but the small bulge along her collarbone gave it away. The seatbelt had done its job in keeping her safe but the jolt of the crash meant it also broke her clavicle.

“Hi there,” she said as she crouched in front of the girl. “My name’s Hen. Do you mind if I take over for Buck?”

The girl nodded. “My mom is going to be so mad.”

“Hey, it wasn’t your fault, remember. You couldn’t have done anything,” Buck said with the small smile he kept for when the tears appeared.

“Buck, can you go grab one of our slings from the bus? I just gave my last one away.” Hen took over supporting the girl’s elbow for him before he jumped into a jog for another sling. “Can you tell me your name?”

“Tiffany.”

“Okay Tiffany,” Hen said, feeling the way her bra strap was starting to dip into the swelling. “I’m going to move your bra strap a little, honey. It’ll take a little of that pressure off your arm.”

Tiffany nodded again and sniffed. She bit down on her lip as Hen’s fingers pushed the strap over the swelling of her shoulder.

“Well, Tiffany, looks like you just jumped the line to the hospital.” She wasn’t exhibiting any signs of nausea but that was probably due to the adrenaline still drumming through her veins. “We’ll call your mom on the way so she can meet us there.”

“Do you think…” Tiffany said, her gaze flicking to the left. “Do you think he could ride with me in the ambulance?”

Hen turned and rolled her eyes so hard she was surprised she didn’t see the inside of her own brain.

Buck was walking back with his head down and the sling in his hands, completely oblivious to the very teenage attention Tiffany was doing a terrible job at hiding.

“Sweetie,” Hen said with a sigh. “You’d might as well adopt a golden retriever.”

That got a laugh out of Tiffany and Hen couldn’t help but snort as Buck looked up at them with wide eyes.

Buck’s mouth twisted into a pout when he realized they were laughing at him which did not help his case.

* * *

Switching partners sucked. Don’t get him wrong. Buck loved Hen and he loved working with her in the field. She was amazing at what she did.

But it was a lot to compare to when they were paired up. Eddie and Buck complimented each other because they supported their weaknesses and pushed them into strengths for each other. There wasn’t a whole lot they couldn’t convey without a simple glance and a lift of a brow.

With Hen… he kind of felt like an idiot, sometimes. He knew that was normal. He was only EMT 1 certified and nowhere near as experienced as Chim or Hen when it came to that kind of stuff. But he had so many questions that popped up and none of the time to ask except in the cab of the ambulance after everything was done. Hen never seemed bothered by it but Buck knew from past experience that the moment he realized he’d been talking too long, everyone else had been fed up at least twenty minutes earlier.

Except Eddie but Eddie didn’t count.

But he didn’t like feeling in the way. He never felt like that with Eddie.

He’d been two steps away from Hen with the sling when Buck saw her face drop as she jumped in front of Tiffany before he felt anything. An arm shot up from under his own arm and another around his waist that yanked him back so hard it nearly knock the wind from out of him.

Then the knife against his throat stole any air that lingered in his lungs.

“I said,” a man shouted as he jerked Buck back against him. “ _I want to leave!”_

For a moment it was quiet.

Then people started to scream.

Bobby was in front of them in a flash, blocking Hen and Tiffany behind him as Hen pulled her away to safety. Hen always said that their job was to try and avoid the crescendo of chaos but Buck couldn’t help but feel like they’d fallen face first into the surge of mayhem as people ran away screaming and the guy--- Daryl, he remembered when he’d assessed him--- panted against his ear and police suddenly surrounded them while shouting orders and holy shit there were too many guns pointed in Buck’s direction! He could hear the moment Daryl had the same realization because the panting in his ear turned up a click towards a frantic wheezing.

“I want to leave!” Daryl screamed and his arms jerked Buck back again.

The sling slipped from his fingers in a mock flag of surrender at their feet.

“Sir,” Bobby said, his hands raised and his voice like an anchor in the storm that Buck tried desperately to hold onto. “You need to let go of my guy.”

“No! You won’t let me leave!”

“If you let Buck go, we can let you leave. But you need to let him go.”

“Bullshit.” Buck winced as spit flew against his face. “He’s my only _leverage out of here_.”

The arm around his waist disappeared only for it to claw into his hair and _pull_ until his neck felt like it was going to pop off his shoulders. But the movement was enough to knock Buck’s weight back onto his heels and into Daryl’s knees. Daryl cursed and lifted Buck’s head by his hair until their center of gravity could balance again.

“I will slam this knife into your throat if you so much as do that again,” Daryl spat into Buck’s ear and Buck hated the fact that he could see his hands shaking as he lifted them in front of him.

“I’m sorry,” he said even though it wasn’t his fault.

* * *

Bobby felt like someone had punched a hole in his chest and squeezed at whatever they could grab. Sure, they had plans. They had protocols. But nothing ever quite prepared them for something like this. They ran into danger and sometime it lashed back out at them and tried to cripple them but Bobby didn’t have that luxury. He had to be in control. He was their captain and his team trusted him. If Bobby was sending his team into trouble, it was on him to be able to know how to get them out if they couldn’t do so themselves. Buck needed him. 

Believe it or not, they’d prepared for this very instance.

But that didn’t make seeing Buck’s hands shake any easier.

“Let him go.” Bobby said, trying to deescalate the situation. “I’m the captain. You can take me instead.”

“Bobby---” Buck started before the man pushed the knife impossibly closer to his throat.

“Shut up before I cut your vocal chords out!”

A long thin line of blood slid down Buck’s throat and for once Bobby was glad they were a man down. If Eddie had been there, there would’ve been no holding him back.

“Take me instead and you can get out of here, okay?” Bobby tried and really hoped his wife wasn’t on scene yet. Athena was going to kill him if she heard. “I’ve got authority. Buck doesn’t. They’ll listen to me. Take me instead.”

The man’s eyes darted from Bobby and then to the officers before they narrowed back on him again and he shook his head, pulling himself and Buck up until they were pressed against a light pole.

“No,” he said. “I want my car and I want to go!”

“Sir, your car is not in any condition to go anywhere.”

“I want my---”

“Sir! Your car is currently leaking transmission fuel and crushed into the back end of a Prius. You won’t be able to go anywhere with it.”

It was the first time Bobby had raised his voice but the longer the man held onto the Buck, the less likely he was going to be able to get through to him.

“Then get me something that drives or I swear to God I will kill this kid!” The man shouted back and nearly sent them both to the ground again as he shook Buck like a rag doll. 

Buck’s eyes were wide as he looked at Bobby, silently asking him what he wanted him to do. He was doing what he’d been trained to do. He wasn’t fighting. He wasn’t resisting. He was letting Bobby handle it and trusting him to get him out of there.

The weight of that responsibility made Bobby breathless but giving up wasn’t an option. 

“You can take my truck but I have to go with you,” Bobby said.

The man shook his head. “No!”

Bobby forced his jaw to relax to keep from clenching out his frustration. “I’m not letting you leave here with him without me. So, you can either take both of us in my truck or you can wait until the police have formed some kind of plan to take you down.”

* * *

It felt like forever while Daryl considered Bobby’s offer and forever for Buck to try and gain enough courage to just shout at Bobby to run. But the knife’s edge was like a metal rod pressing against his wind pipe, slowly strangling him with each stuttered cycle of breathing.

He glanced over at Hen and almost sagged in relief when he made eye contact with her. She nodded, her lips pressed together in a thin line, and it was all the reassurance he needed to shove some of the thrumming nerves that threatened to consume him down. They were still there. He wasn't alone even if it felt like it. They were still there. 

“Fine!” Daryl said as his breathing turned into even huffs in Buck’s ear. “Get me some zip ties or something!”

Ice frosted down the base of his spine as what little self-control he had slipped away. It was already suffocating how claustrophobic he felt pressed against a guy he didn’t know and no way past the sharp edge of the knife. No. He didn’t want to be tied up. He couldn’t deal with the gravity of not having control of his hands in an otherwise control less situations. It was too much. He couldn’t fight back without his hands. He couldn’t defend himself. He couldn’t...He---

“There’s no need. He’s not fighting you,” Bobby said as if he sensed Buck’s panic.

“I’d rather not take my chances.”

“He does what I tell him to do. He’s not going to fight you.” Something dangerous and final was in Bobby’s tone that Buck hadn’t heard in a long time. It made him feel like that same rookie he’d been almost two years ago and had asked Bobby a question about the wrong little black book.

“If he does I’ll shove this knife in his back and that’ll be on you,” Daryl spat out, bristling at being talked down to instead of pandered like it had been.

It sounded just as bad as having his vocal chords cut out but Buck didn't exactly get a vote in all of this. He was supposed to be quiet and let Bobby handle it. Right now Daryl's agitation was focused entirely on Buck and Buck alone which was a very dangerous position to be in. It took everything in him to keep from trying to shy away from the intensity of hate that was be directed at him. 

But then the knife pressed a little harder and a little higher until he had to force his head back and all he could see was the looming clouds above.

* * *

A choked off whine slipped past Buck’s lips as his head was pulled back farther and it couldn’t have been easy to breathe at that angle. Hen clenched her fist at her side and bit down a snap she’d almost let loose.

“What’s stopping you from tricking me? Get me locked in a small space or something?” The man asked and Hen was about at the end of her rope.

Not only were her friends and coworkers empty handed in a knife fight but the longer this nonsense kept up the longer it would be before they could help _anybody._ This was not a merry go round any of them wanted to be on and the only one who wanted to go round and round was the asshole holding a knife to Buck’s throat.

The only indication that Bobby was feeling the same was the tightness in his voice.

“Sir, frankly, I don’t care where you need to go or why you want to get there. But right now you’re threatening one of my men and if letting you leave means you’ll let him go then I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Despite the hard blunt edge in his words, Bobby’s body was still relaxed with his posture nonthreatening and his hands in the air.

Buck’s hands were still shaking but the blood on his neck didn’t seem to be out of control and she didn’t even think he knew it was there.

“Get ready,” Chim said under his breath as he stepped beside her before dipping his head back towards the trucks.

"Fine." The man bit out. 

* * *

“B-Bobby,” Buck croaked as he felt his legs start to fall back one step and then another because it was one thing to be threatened while on a scene and entirely different thing to be dragged away from one.

“It’s okay, Buck,” Bobby said. “I’m right here with you.”

“Stop talking to each other!”

Bobby swallowed as he glared at the man. He had turned so Buck was more of a shield with his back to Bobby and for a minute he considered just jumping him from behind. But there were too many risks. He’d already cut Buck with the knife by mistake, he didn’t want to risk him “accidentally” cutting him worse. He was already taking a big risk by having them move to a different location but he could see the tension escalating in front of his own eyes and Bobby couldn’t think of a way out where Buck wasn’t the collateral damage of a stray bullet or an angry knife swipe. He could afford to give an inch if he needed.

They didn’t often use the chief unit other than one frankly laughable time Chimney had flexed his acting captain muscles a little and took it for a spin. Bobby preferred to ride with his crew and keep pressure on the pulse point of the mood in the team by being close. But since he had incident command and the otherwise unused SUV needed some mileage, it was sitting like a pseudo marker in the street. It felt like it was miles away but it couldn’t be more than a few feet. He heard the dragging of Buck’s boots on concrete over the loud roaring in his ears and tried to get a glimpse of his firefighter.

Hen was watching from where she’d hunkered down beside the truck, her face pensive and flat, and pointedly looking at Buck before her gaze flicked up to meet Bobby’s.

Everything was so quiet as they all watched their unwilling parade break through and head towards the SUV. It was like the sounds of the scene and the city were in a poised tacet and waiting for everything to burst.

* * *

No one was doing anything. They were just watching Buck as he stumbled to walk backwards. The adrenaline he got whenever he was working a scene had long since soured into the crippling anxiety tight in his chest and he just didn’t want to be there anymore. The primal urge to claw his way far away from Daryl until he could run and keep running was consuming his every impulse. But this wasn’t right. They’d practically drilled it into their head that if they were ever threatened on scene they needed to avoid going to a second location at all costs.

But he couldn’t see Bobby anymore and Hen was an arm’s reach away. He stretched his hand out to her in a flash of desperation. Please please please. Get him away. But Hen couldn’t and logically he knew that. Her face pinched in pain as she lifted her hand and gave him a soft nod. It was meant to be soothing but it didn’t stop the wet sound that caught in his throat and threatened to drown him if the knife didn’t kill him first.

They stopped and the back of Buck’s knees knocked into Daryl’s again at the abruptness.

“Open the back door,” Daryl said, jerking his grip on Buck.

His arm curled around Buck’s waist again and the knife moved more to his jaw like he was preparing to lift Buck up with him and Buck tensed as the sound of a car door opened. Daryl turned them so that Buck could catch a brief glimpse of Bobby holding open the backdoor of the chief’s unit and---

“Stop right there.”

Athena’s voice was like an aria in a long fermata of apprehension that shattered across all of Buck’s reserves. Daryl jerked in surprise and barely loosened his hold but that moment of surprise was all Buck needed and he wretched himself out of the man’s grip in a mess of pushing and tangled limbs. Someone cursed behind him and he tripped forward but Bobby’s hand was wrapped painfully around his wrist and pulling him. His fleece yanked back against his throat as fingers clawed into the fabric but Buck’s taste of freedom spurred his panic into overdrive and he clung to Bobby even as a burn scratched across his back. His face got rammed into the hard hip of an officer but the impact was the moment he finally broke free so he didn’t even care. He fell forward into Bobby’s chest, his captain breaking both of their falls in a heap of limbs. It was a messy tangle of arms and legs and Buck couldn’t tell which way was up but Bobby didn’t hesitate. He curled his arms around Buck’s shoulders and dragged him farther away.

“Buck!”

“Come here!”

“I got you, Buck.”

It was too much of a cacophony of voices mixed in the heavy ringing of his ears but it was music all the same. Chim’s hand gripped his arm and pulled and he was pretty sure he saw Hen throw a kick down to whoever was holding his leg--- he hoped it was Daryl and not a police officer--- and Bobby just kept hauling him until away until _finally_ they were free.

* * *

Hen was pressing her hands down Buck’s entire body in an instant and tried to see if he’d been caught by the knife anywhere while Chim’s hands probed at Buck’s neck. It was probably too overwhelming and too much but that had been a chaotic extraction and not how they liked to do things but it got Buck away from the psycho with a knife so whatever.

Buck arched against Bobby with a hiss when her hand pressed against his back and she made quick work of lifting up his torn station fleece. A long cut arched across his shoulder blade and down to his ribs as blood started to seep through his shirt. The knife must have caught him when he’d broken free.

“Don’t move too much, Buckaroo,” Chim said. “Let us take a look.”

And Bobby was whispering nonsensical nothings as Buck was one hiccup away from hyperventilating as the adrenaline and fear crashed down at his feet. Chim and Bobby helped Buck sit up until his head could rest against Bobby’s shoulder and Hen could work up his shirt enough to fully see the extent of his cut.

“It doesn’t look like it’ll need stitches but maybe some tissue adhesive and it’s going to sting for a while,” Hen said as she pulled some gauze from her bag to keep pressure on the wound.

It wasn't until the vacuum seal popped in her ears that she started to pull together the rushed words falling out of Buck's mouth. 

“I’m sorry, Hen! I’m sorry! He was fine when I assessed him. His pupils weren’t even dilated and I-I-I thought… I’m sorry!”

Buck arched with a grunt as Chim worked on cleaning the cut on his back and Hen took over holding his shoulders so Bobby could pull himself out from under Buck.

“Buckaroo, what’s wrong with that asshole was nothing you could’ve seen with a penlight and having him follow your finger," she said, tapping his cheek once with her thumb until he nodded that he heard her. 

“You got that right. The reason he was so eager to get out of here?" Athena said, walking up to the four of them. "He was on his way to murder his ex-girlfriend. Found a gun and a note to her parents in the glove compartment of his car.”

“Jesus!” Chim exclaimed from under his breath.

Athena nodded before she lifted an unimpressed brow at her husband who was smart enough to shrug sheepishly. But then she turned her gaze down at Buck with a soft smile. “You okay, Buck?”

“Can I go back to being Eddie’s partner now?” He asked, sounding exhausted and stretched thin. "No offense, Hen."

His eyes were wide and blue and the color was seeping back into his cheeks finally but his hair was a wild range of curls standing in outrage at being grabbed so harshly. Hen snorted out a laugh and let him lean into her while she moved to tame down some of his hair so Chim could work closer on his back. He shuddered into a grimace and turned so his face could hide into the hollow of her neck, needing a minute after being the center of attention. She dropped her head to rest against his and turned a smug expression up at Bobby. 

“Don’t say it.” He groaned. 

“I told you so.”


End file.
